Guarding Your Soul

Introduction:

This blog post was originally posted in the summer of 2016.

This morning I woke up so thankful for the rain. I did a search on our CitySalt website for ‘thanksgiving’ and ran across this 2016 post. It is so relevant for today, I am reposting it.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Enjoy! ~Darla Beardsley

John’s post…

From time to time over the course of the last 15 years I’ve dealt with low back issues. When I’ve done too much of the wrong thing my back will “go out”. To me that means I’ll feel spasms like electric shocks whenever I move just slightly the wrong way. It means I can’t stay in one position for very long, I can’t do my normal work routine, I can barely get in and out of a car, I have to be very careful when sitting down, laying down or getting up from either of those positions. I can’t go out and play. I get grumpy and self-focused and depressed. I absolutely hate it. In so many ways and for so many reasons, I hate it. Did I say “I hate it”? Well, I really do hate it. 

I have learned over the years that with the help of good chiropractors, physical therapists and exercise trainers, there are a number of things I can do to help myself out of this bad place. I can ice, I can stretch, I can do certain exercises, I can get laser treatments, I can walk and walk and walk. I can learn to guard my low back by better engaging my transverse abdominals (muscles that wrap around your body below the navel which act like a belt supporting your back). I can also protect my back by keeping good posture, holding my head in line with my back, and using my glutes instead of my low back muscles for stability. I have to be very aware of how I’m moving, but if I’m careful, I can still function fairly well until my back muscles finally relax and get back to normal. I am so thankful for what I’ve learned over the years and especially for the knowledgable people who have helped me so much. 

So I was reading in Philippians this morning and I was reminded of how God, as a good and perfect Father (and as The Great Physician, as well) gives us such wonderful instruction and advice for living well. In Philippians He tells us not how we can guard our backs, but how we can guard our souls:

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Wow! He tells us that His peace is what guards our hearts and minds, our souls, and He even tells us what part we have to play in getting that peace. He gives us strategies for guarding and protecting our souls. I love that! There is something we can do. We need to realize first and foremost that He is near us. He has promised never to leave us. Then, rather than worrying and being anxious about things, which we are all inclined to do, He tells us to talk to Him instead.

Bring to Him our concerns and troubles, pray about them, ask Him for what we need and above all, bathe all of these prayers and requests in a pool of gratitude. To me it’s interesting and significant that the little phrase “with thanksgiving” sits right in the middle of this whole section, set off by commas, as if to say this is the key. The key to peace and the key to being free from anxiety.

I read this quote somewhere once which is inspired by Matthew 11:28-30:

 Rest is not the absence of labor, hardship or suffering...
 It is the absence of guilt, worry, anxiety and lack of meaning.

 Fortunately we are not just victims of our mental, physical and emotional states, being passively carried down a stream in which we don’t want to float. God dignifies us with an invitation to participate with Him in such way that we can, at least in some ways, influence the course and outcome of our journey.

Living in a world where there are so many things to worry and be anxious about, it is reassuring that God knows our human tendencies and rather than judge us for our ignorance, foolishness or sin, invites us to let Him take the heavy load and gives us in its place a light load, easy to carry, full of gratitude, peace and grace. 

Philippians 4:6-7
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joshua 1:5
I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The Antidote to Worry

My bookcase project is done! I’m sure my friends are happy my frequent expressions of anxiety and panic are over, but the experience taught me to enjoy another facet of God’s love.

I jokingly call myself a recovering perfectionist. Occasional over thinking and self-doubt can sometimes make it hard to get things done. I hugely dislike this tendency and have worked for years to adopt a more positive and productive pattern.

Despite the daunting task ahead, I had a vision of the finished product and stubbornly took on the challenge. I hired a cabinet company to build and install a custom-made 6x7’ bookcase in my living room, and was immediately deluged with a long list of design decisions. Deadlines loomed and my stomach ached. It became harder to make the next group of decisions as I started to second guess my previous decisions.

I found that the specific part of perfectionism I battled was worry. I sometimes felt like I was heaving aside an incredibly heavy manhole cover in order to climb out of my unconsciously self-imposed limitations. God mercifully reminded me worry is a heavy burden I was not meant to carry. I discovered the antidote was to trust in God completely, regardless of any nagging doubts or unexpected setbacks.

Through God’s still small voice I heard Him say “I am going to bless you!”. I pressed into believing this promise and let go of the heavy weight of trying to do it by myself. Also, I chose repeatedly to stop feeling anxious and instead trusted God by waiting in faith for His provision.

God lovingly reminded me I am never alone in whatever I face when I bring it to him in prayer. The initial burning discomfort in my spirit of resisting worry and choosing to trust God in faith, faded as I continued to trust and thank God. It reminded me of the process of exercising and building up weak muscles. I read Psalms when I felt anxious and was tempted to panic. This helped me to avoid inferring with God’s blessings.

The finished bookcase is beautiful and I’m very much enjoying filling it up with books and decorative doo-dads. I recently heard God say “I want you to enjoy your life!”. This strongly motivated me to continue to push aside worry in the future and enjoy the assurance that God is with me always!

I’m not saying I have worry completely under control now. I have more home projects ahead, and I will face a similar tension again, but I have more tools now. I am encouraged by this victory and continue to trust God and His in-progress plan for my life.

Philippians 4:6,7 The Message
Do not fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know our concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

 

"Guarding Your Soul" by John Rice

From time to time over the course of the last 15 years I’ve dealt with low back issues. When I’ve done too much of the wrong thing my back will “go out”. To me that means I’ll feel spasms like electric shocks whenever I move just slightly the wrong way. It means I can’t stay in one position for very long, I can’t do my normal work routine, I can barely get in and out of a car, I have to be very careful when sitting down, laying down or getting up from either of those positions. I can’t go out and play. I get grumpy and self-focused and depressed. I absolutely hate it. In so many ways and for so many reasons, I hate it. Did I say “I hate it”? Well, I really do hate it. 

I have learned over the years that with the help of good chiropractors, physical therapists and exercise trainers, there are a number of things I can do to help myself out of this bad place. I can ice, I can stretch, I can do certain exercises, I can get laser treatments, I can walk and walk and walk. I can learn to guard my low back by better engaging my transverse abdominals (muscles that wrap around your body below the navel which act like a belt supporting your back). I can also protect my back by keeping good posture, holding my head in line with my back, and using my glutes instead of my low back muscles for stability. I have to be very aware of how I’m moving, but if I’m careful, I can still function fairly well until my back muscles finally relax and get back to normal. I am so thankful for what I’ve learned over the years and especially for the knowledgable people who have helped me so much. 

So I was reading in Philippians this morningand I was reminded of how God, as a good and perfect Father (and as The Great Physician, as well) gives us such wonderful instruction and advice for living well. In Philippians He tells us not how we can guard our backs, but how we can guard our souls:

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Wow! He tells us that His peace is what guards our hearts and minds, our souls, and He even tells us what part we have to play in getting that peace. He gives us strategies for guarding and protecting our souls. I love that! There is something we can do. We need to realize first and foremost that He is near us. He has promised never to leave us. Then, rather than worrying and being anxious about things, which we are all inclined to do, He tells us to talk to Him instead.

Bring to Him our concerns and troubles, pray about them, ask Him for what we need and above all, bathe all of these prayers and requests in a pool of gratitude. To me it’s interesting and significant that the little phrase “with thanksgiving” sits right in the middle of this whole section, set off by commas, as if to say this is the key. The key to peace and the key to being free from anxiety.

I read this quote somewhere once which is inspired by Matthew 11:28-30:

 Rest is not the absence of labor, hardship or suffering...                                                                                                                      It is the absence of guilt, worry, anxiety and lack of meaning.

 Fortunately we are not just victims of our mental, physical and emotional states, being passively carried down a stream in which we don’t want to float. God dignifies us with an invitation to participate with Him in such way that we can, at least in some ways, influence the course and outcome of our journey.

Living in a world where there are so many things to worry and be anxious about, it is reassuring that God knows our human tendencies and rather than judge us for our ignorance, foolishness or sin, invites us to let Him take the heavy load and gives us in its place a light load, easy to carry, full of gratitude, peace and grace. 

Phil 4:6-7

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joshua 1:5

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Mat 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”